So, here's the story about the last time the Knicks traded a 1st round pick plus a right to swap 1st rounders, in the hope of catching a star... http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/curry_traded_051004.html To put it in perspective, the following is the state of the world on October 4, 2005: 1. The New York Knicks were coming off of a 33-42 season. Lenny Wilkins was replaced midseason by Herb Williams when they started 17-22. The year before that, they actually made the playoffs (39-43, Lenny Wilkins was 23-19 after taking over for Don Chaney). The year before that, they were 37-45. So, they've been below average, but by no means a real bottom feeder. 2. Their most productive frontcourt players were Kurt Thomas, Nazr Mohammed, and Tim Thomas. Not a whole lot of inside scoring among them. They also have Mike Sweetney, but he averaged single digit scoring. Their two big scorers were both perimeter guys: Marbury and Jamal Crawford. 3. They just signed Larry Brown as head coach after his successful run in Detroit. 4. They just added 3 1st round rookies: Channing Frye, Nate Robinson and David Lee (the latter two were late 1st rounders, so probably not expected to contribute). 5. Eddy Curry was 22 years old, a former teenage high lotto pick and an atheletic 300-lb beast, coming off a season in which he averaged 16 pts, 5.4 rebounds a game on 54% FG in 29 mpg. Isiah Thomas was not the only one who thought highly of him. In sum, it was kind of reasonable to think that, if they acquire the inside scorer that they lacked, with Larry Brown at the helm, this team should do a lot better than 33-49. And Eddy Curry looked pretty good, despite some big question marks.. But he's just 22 year old, and already had a couple productive NBA seasons. Guys like him don't grow on trees (mostly because the tree branches can't support the weight, I think). In contrast, former Rocket Richard Elmer Dorsey was still in high school at that age. So, they made the deal, thinking that the 2006 1st rounder is likely gonna be a mid 1st round pick at best. As for the 2007 pick swap, who knows if that's gonna happen. If things work out, the Knicks should be pretty good in their 2nd year under Larry Brown. Who knows where the Bulls will be. They won 47 game the year before, but they are losing their best inside scorer. Well, things didn't work out that way. Larry Brown went insane with the rotation, then got fired. Isiah took over and got them back to 33 wins the next year. The picks ended up being 2nd and 9th overall: LaMarcus Aldridge (traded for Tyrus Thomas immediately), and Joakim Noah. Fast forward a few years. The Knicks are again trying to catch a star or two, except this time, instead of trading for developing young guy with potential, they are trading for the cap room to potentially sign a proven star (or two). They again gave away a pick swap and a 1st round pick. These are protected top 1, and then top 5. They got smarter now, but if they had the same protection with the last trade, they would have still given away the 2nd pick and the 9th. If things works out as expected, that 2012 first rounder will be pretty low and the 2011 swap won't be worth much, if anything. But boy... are they exposing themselves again. The protection, as I said, is really minimal... a jockstrap instead of going the "full Oden." I am hoping for a sequal of the Curry deal. I know Bulls fans had fun with the first one.
